Ron Howard thanks the Vatican all the way to the bank

The Da Vinci Code had the second biggest global box office opening ever. I guess the Catholic Church still has a lot of clout, people line up to do what they tell them not to do.
"Da Vinci Code" unlocks $224 mln in world sales

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - All the protests and all the bad reviews could not prevent "The Da Vinci Code" from recording a $224 million worldwide opening, the second-biggest debut ever at the global box office, its distributor said on Sunday.

The controversial adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novel, the story of a Vatican cover-up involving Jesus Christ and his supposed offspring, sold about $77 million worth of tickets at movie theaters in the United States and Canada during its first three days, according to Columbia Pictures.

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A Catholic lay organization, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, took out full-page ads in USA Today on Friday calling for worshipers to stage prayer vigils outside at least 1,000 theaters nationwide.

I guess instead of prayer vigils they bought some popcorn and watched the movie instead.